The present invention relates generally to mass-produced decorative tiles comprising mostly wood products and methods for making the same, and more particularly to wooden tiles comprising different species of end grain wood products and methods for making the same.
Wooden tiles have long been utilized as a floor covering, ceiling or wall covering, a border for carpeted floors, and for other decorative purposes. It is generally considered that end grain wood is superior to flat grain wood with regard to many of these applications. For example, end grain wood is substantially more durable than flat grain wood, especially with regard to floor tiles. Thus, wooden tiles having a front or xe2x80x9cwearingxe2x80x9d surface which is substantially comprised of end grain wood are much more durable than those comprised of flat grain wood. Additionally, the appearance of end grain wood is unique in that a pattern of tree growth rings is revealed in the grain, as opposed to the more common xe2x80x9ccathedralxe2x80x9d grain pattern of flat grain wood.
Wooden tiles known as xe2x80x9cparquetryxe2x80x9d (for floor tiles) or xe2x80x9cmarquetryxe2x80x9d (for other decorative purposes) generally comprise small pieces of wood which are manually arranged and adhesively bonded together to form each individual tile. Methods for making parquetry are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,140 dated Mar. 15, 1988 of Yontrarak for WOODEN TILE AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME and U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,584 of Severson et al. for METHOD FOR MAKING WOODEN TILE, which are hereby incorporated by reference for all that is contained therein. It is noted in each of these patents that, while end grain wood is much more durable than flat grain wood, it also tends to be less flexible. Thus, using standard parquetry methods, tiles created with small pieces of end grain wood tend to break apart more easily than those made of flat grain wood. These patents attempt to improve on methods for assembling the small pieces of wood to create wooden tiles which are more flexible and stable.
Regardless of the improvements shown in these patents, the methods for making a parquetry or marquetry-type of wooden tile which involve manually assembling small pieces of wood to create individual tiles are extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive. Furthermore, since each tile is individually assembled using separately-cut pieces of wood, any two tiles produced are highly likely to have at least some inconsistencies in their surface patterns. In addition, there is a limit to the details which may be included in a parquetry or marquetry-type of wooden tile in that the individually-cut pieces of wood which make up the tile must be thick enough to be easily assembled. Thus, no thin lines of wood or other such inlay can reasonably be included in a wooden tile produced by standard methods without prohibitively raising the cost of such tile. Finally, as noted above, for tiles comprised of end grain wood pieces, special steps must be taken to assemble a tile which is more flexible and stable.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for efficiently making a plurality of wooden tiles.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for making a plurality of wooden tiles each having a front or xe2x80x9cwearingxe2x80x9d surface substantially comprised of end grain wood, and most preferably a variety of different species of end grain wood. The resulting wooden tiles are stable and should not easily break apart.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for making a plurality of wooden tiles having wood and/or non-wood inlays.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for making a plurality of wooden tiles having a consistent surface pattern thereon.
The present invention is directed to wooden tiles and a method for making the same. The wooden tiles are sliced from an elongate composite beam having a rectangular cross-sectional shape. The elongate composite beam is formed by assembling and securely adhering together a plurality of elongate wood and possibly one or more non-wood pieces. The beam is then sliced into individual tiles having a substantially uniform tile thickness and a predetermined pattern of primarily end grain wood which is substantially consistent among all of the tiles.
The elongate wood pieces are pre-finished within a predetermined tolerance in order to form the elongate composite beam. Adhesive is applied to at least some of the elongate wood pieces and allowed to completely cure prior to slicing the tiles. The tiles may be individually finished by applying a tinted stain and/or clear coating on the front surface of each tile. An adhesive backing may be placed on the rear surface of each tile to create a plurality of self-adhesive tiles.
Different types of wood and non-wood product may be used in order to create an infinite variety of patterns. The elongate wood pieces preferably comprise at least two different species of wood to provide multi-colored tiles. Plywood may be used to create a xe2x80x9cstripedxe2x80x9d effect, and exotic woods may be included in small amounts to create an expensive-looking, yet low-cost tile. Cylindrical dowels made of wood or non-wood product may also be inserted into the elongate composite beam.
Tiles having curved pieces of wood or non-wood product therein may be produced by the method of the present invention. Curved edges are cut into one or more elongate wood pieces, and a thin, flexible, elongate sheet of wood or non-wood product is placed between the curved edges.